Epiphone M-4 Explorer Ltd Ed Jason Hook

The Iconic Explorer Design
When it was released to an unsuspecting public in 1958 as part of the Gibson’s Modernist Series, players of the day just couldn’t handle it, and very few late-’50s Explorers were produced. Fast-forward to the 70s and 80s, and the revived Explorer quickly re-established itself as one of the most iconic electric guitars of the rock and metal scenes. Jason Hook’s signature model is crafted from mahogany and features a stunning red finish with a captivating ”M4” graphic in white, adding a visually stunning aesthetic to an already iconic design. Jason has also made the upper body cutaway slightly deeper to provide incredible access to the higher frets, while the addition of an angled scarf provides players with a comfortable arm ‘rest’.

Mahogany Neck & Granadilla Fingerboard
The ”M4” Explorer is equipped with a solid mahogany neck, providing a stable platform to guarantee tuning stability over longer playing sessions. The mahogany tonewood infuses the Epiphone Guitar with a rich soundscape, adding plenty of midrange focus and warm characteristics for a thick, meaty midsection. The neck is coupled with a granadilla fingerboard, creating plenty of depth and high-end sparkle to lets each note sing.

Comfortable SlimTaper Profile
Its classic SlimTaper neck profile is designed with Jason’s custom specs, providing incredible comfort for an enhanced performance. The original design was introduced and made famous by many classic, Kalamazoo-made, Gibson and Epiphone guitars, featuring the perfect thickness for a stable neck and a comfortably, speedy performance.

Seymour Duncan ”JB” & Vintage ’59 Humbuckers
Jason’s Signature Explorer is equipped with a set of versatile Seymour Duncan humbuckers, providing players with stunning tones suitable for everything from blues, country and fusion, through to punk, hard rock, grunge, and thrash. The bridge features the powerful JB humbucker, offering full lows, crisp, detailed highs, and an upper midrange bump to give heavy chords added crunch and chunk, while letting single notes sing. Its hot output is perfect for driving amps a little to create extra sustain and increase its harmonic content. The neck is fitted with the vintage voiced ’59 humbucker, offering tones inspired by the original PAF humbuckers of the 50s. Its sweet sustain, full sounding chords, and clear bright attack injects the Epiphone Explorer with full lows, a slightly boosted high-end, and scooped mids, resulting a smooth, open sound with added character and improved pick-attack clarity.

LockTone Tune-O-Matic Bridge
Tune-O-Matic bridges are an extremely popular fixed bridge type due to their stability, reliability, comfortable playing position, and impressive sustain. Unlike other systems that require tools to adjust and remove, the LockTone bridge automatically locks the tune-o-matic and the stopbar onto their posts for added security and an improved sustain. Overall, this modern innovation will provide optimum reliability and ease-of-play, perfect for gigging musicians.

About Jason Hook
Jason Hook is a Canadian born guitarist, record producer, song writer, and session musician, notably recognised around the world for his work as lead guitarist of Five Finger Death Punch since 2009. Jason’s love for music started at the age of 6, taking private guitar lessons and receiving formal music training which also included drums, piano and violin. After moving to Los Angeles to record an album with his band No Love Lost, which unfortunately never saw the light of day, Jason joined the band BulletBoys before being hired by Mandy Moore in 2000. After that, Jason become a highly coveted session player in LA, working with artists like the Vince Neil Band and Alice Cooper before joining Five Finger Death Punch in 2009.

SPECIFICATIONS

Body & Bridge
Shape: Explorer
Body: Mahogany
Bridge: LockTone Tune-O-Matic
Tailpiece: LockTone Stopbar
Construction: Set-Neck
Finish: Red w/M4 Graphics

Neck & Fingerboard
Neck: Mahogany
Profile: Jason Hood Custom SlimTaper
Scale Length: 24.75’’
Fingerboard: Granadilla
Radius: 12’’
Frets: 22 Super Jumbo
Inlays: Pearloid Dots
Nut: White, U-Rite
Nut Width: 1.6875’’
Truss Rod: Dual-Action
Truss Rod Cover: Black ”Bell” Shape w/White Jason Hook

Electronics & Hardware
Bridge Pickup: Seymour Duncan ”JB” Humbucker (SH-4)
Neck Pickup: Seymour Duncan Vintage ’59 Humbucker (SH-1)
Controls: 2 x Volume, Master Tone, 3-Way Toggle Switch
Tuners: Grover Locking Mini-Rotomatics
Control Knobs: Black Top Hats 1/Metal Inserts
Hardware: Nickel